Briefly describe BrainGate

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a pilot clinical study of the BrainGate Neural Interface System for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). The system involves implanting a chip in the brain that converts brain cell impulses to computer signals. In 2006, in the pilot clinical trial, "[a] man with paralysis of all four limbs could directly control objects around him?using only his thoughts." The device, called BrainGate, is surgically implanted. It includes a sensor that records brainwaves and interprets them. It can read brain impulses using implanted wires and translate them into commands. "BrainGate uses a tiny (4x4 mm, about the size of a baby aspirin) silicon electrode array to read neural signals directly within brain tissue." A quadriplegic woman without the power of speech who received a BrainGate implant was still able to control a computer cursor accurately even after having the implant for 1,000 days. BrainGate allowed her to use only her thoughts to control the cursor. Others have used BrainGate to control artificial limbs. According to the author of a paper appearing in the Journal of Neural Engineering, "Our objective with the neural interface is to reach the level of performance of a person without a disability using a mouse